A bizarre shot-selection cost Pakistan captain Babar Azam a chance to end his four-year century drought in Test cricket. England players have targetted Babar with the short-ball ploy throughout the series, and their plan worked wornder once again. As Josh Tongue dug one at Babar’s body, the Pakistan captain attempted an awkward flap shot, only to get the thinest of edges which was grabbed behind the sticks by Jordan Cox .
On Day 3 of the ongoing 3rd Test against England at Edgbaston, Babar was batting on 76 after surviving a tricky phase, only to hit the self-destruct button.
His latest dismissal extended Babar’s wait for a Test century to nearly four years, with his last hundred coming against New Zealand in Karachi in December 2022, when he scored 161. Despite the dismissal, Babar had his slice of history as he became the fifth Pakistani skipper to reach 2,000 Test runs and only the second one after Misbah-ul-Haq to have 7,000 runs or more as a captain for his country. Babar also joined Misbah (7,392 runs) as the second Pakistan captain to have 7,000 runs. In 152 international matches as captain, Babar has made 7,029 runs at an average of 47.17, with 15 centuries and 54 fifties in 163 innings, with a best score of 196.
